Everything Band Podcast

Travis Cross is the director of the wind ensemble and the Chair of Music at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He is a champion for greater diversity in the band community and an especially strong advocate for Asian composers, conductors, and teachers. Topics: Adopted from Korea as a baby, Travis grew up in a middle class home in the middle of Iowa. He tells the story of how his choir teacher pushed him to take a trip to see Starlight Express in Des Moines and how it changed his life. How he ended up at St. Olaf for his undergraduate degree, his first job, his doctorate, and his two college jobs all in one big answer! Banding in the great state of Iowa and how our success is often built with others and why we should be grateful for that support. Representation and diversity in music. Studying at Northwestern with Mallory Thompson and two important bits of advice he received from her. “Move in a way that coaches, influences, and instigates the players to move the air and their fingers and their bodies in a